Claiming Her Mates Complete Series Collection

by Dia Cole

  Prologue

  Nathan

  Ten days ago…

  A fury of snowflakes lashed my windshield and buried familiar landmarks in an icy grave. Damn the fates. Not even the enhanced vision gifted to me and others of the Lykos species allowed me to see through the oncoming blizzard.

  I tightened my grip around the steering wheel and faced the unfortunate truth that it was too dangerous to continue up the mountain. Cursing under my breath, I pulled the Range Rover onto the shoulder of the two-lane mountain road. Squinting, I could barely make out the snow-laden sign for the Sunridge ski resort. I’ll have to stop there for the night.

  Damnation. For months I’d been forced to keep my distance from my female and now she was so close.

  Vana.

  A vision of her long dark hair and curvaceous body flashed in my mind. I’d missed the stunning beauty with every fiber of my being. Trying to go through my duties as the Winterhaven Ambassador while pretending I wasn’t missing the other half of my soul had been pure hell. Having to sleep in our bed without her smooth warm skin pressed against me. Having to eat meals without her banter over the dining room table. Having to walk through the estate without hearing the click of her stiletto heels on the marble floors. But now, finally, I’d get to see her. Touch her. Beg her to forgive me for betraying her trust.

  She didn’t know I’d cast her aside in order to save her life. She didn’t know that horrible night I’d planned on proposing to her, not ending our relationship. But all my plans had gone up in smoke the second I’d discovered that Tasha Digoski, the psychopathic Alpha of Winterhaven, had broken into my home and murdered every human she’d found inside.

  Thank the fates Tasha hadn’t realized what Vana really meant to me and thank the fates the she-bitch hadn’t been able to locate my daughter. No doubt, Tasha would have tortured and murdered Mira too.

  Shuddering, I glanced into the rearview mirror.

  A pair of sleepy eyes, the same golden color as mine, stared back at me.

  “Are we there, Daddy?”

  “Not yet, sunshine.”

  “I want to see Vana,” Mira said through a long yawn.

  “And you will,” I promised. The little girl had taken the loss of Vana almost as hard as I had. And no wonder, Vana was the closest thing she’d ever had to a mother.

  “Okay,” Mira said with absolute trust in my word. She rested her small head against the window, her eyelids heavy.

  “Sleep, sunshine. I’ll wake you up when we get there.”

  She stiffened at my request. “I’m not sleeping.”

  I let out a heavy sigh. Although young, Mira was already a headstrong Alpha female who took orders about as well as I did. “Just rest your eyes then,” I said in a gentle voice.

  Mira had barely slept the entire drive. Unfortunately, traffic delays had turned what was supposed to have been a several hour trip into an overnighter. Reports on the radio indicated there’d been multiple crashes, but I suspected the bumper-to-bumper traffic was compounded by the influx of humans fleeing north.

  They, like me, were trying to outrun the pandemonium in town. They, like me, were trying to outrun the apocalypse.

  For weeks I’d been entirely focused on my carefully orchestrated plans to take down Tasha. So much so that I’d ignored the reports of cannibalistic humans and the discovery of the Z-virus. Like a fool, I’d bought the CDC’s explanations that the new virus was similar to rabies and it only appeared as if people rose from the dead. Who cared about some hysterical humans when the entire future of my faction depended on the strategic alliances I was making with Tasha’s enemies?

  However, the moment Tasha’s Enforcers, Gabriel and Liam, showed up on my doorstep to evacuate me, I knew the medical community had been hiding the truth. People were turning into zombies and human civilization was on the brink of collapse.

  Now all that mattered was getting the two females I loved to safety. I’d rescued Mira from her new nanny’s home in the nick of time and I prayed to the fates that Tasha’s Enforcers, who I’d compelled to save Vana, had done their jobs. Needing to be sure they also weren’t stuck in this storm, I pulled out my cell phone and dialed Gabriel’s number.

  He picked up on the first ring.

  I didn’t mince words. “Is Havana safe at Sanctuary?”

  “Yes,” he replied, sounding as if he was chewing glass. Tasha’s Head Enforcer was used to barking orders, not taking them. Being compelled to do my bidding clearly wasn’t sitting well.

  His attitude couldn’t dampen my relief at hearing Vana was safe. “Good.”

  Picking up on our conversation, Mira began kicking the back of my seat. “Vana! Vana!”

  I twisted around and held a finger to my lips. “Shh. Quiet, Mira. You’ll see her soon.”

  Mira pouted adorably.

  “You didn’t tell me Havana was a latent,” Gabriel said in an accusatory tone.

  Surprised, I nearly dropped my phone. How does Gabriel know Vana’s a latent? So far my best friend Ty and I were the only ones who knew that Vana was a Lykos who hadn’t yet transitioned. We’d done everything in our power to shield her from the other Lykos, especially Tasha. Vana can’t have started her transition yet. Just a few weeks ago, Ty had assured me Vana wasn’t showing any signs. He’d been watching over her for me until Tasha ordered him back to Winterhaven.

  “Does Havana know what she is?” Gabriel continued.

  Fuck no. I’d deliberately kept the truth from Vana. The less she knew, the safer she’d be from Tasha. I knew I couldn’t keep it a secret forever, but somehow sharing the truth with Gabriel before telling Vana herself seemed like even more of a betrayal. What choice do I have? Gabriel had obviously already put the pieces together. I didn’t trust the Head Enforcer as far as I could throw him, but I could always wipe his memory.

  Rubbing the stubble on my chin, I let out a heavy sigh. “No. She knows nothing. When I first interviewed her for the nanny position, I sensed there was some Lykos blood in her—it’s why I hired her in fact—but I assumed she was an Atavus.” As a human born with trace amounts of Lykos blood in her, she was resistant to Mira’s attempts at compulsion. That meant, unlike Mira’s former nannies, Vana didn’t cater to my daughter’s every whim.

  But Vana hadn’t been a mere Atavus like her mother. I cleared my throat and continued. “My visceral attraction to her should’ve been a clue she was so much more. It wasn’t until I dug into her background that I discovered she was a latent. Apparently, her mother had a one-night stand with a colonel before becoming pregnant with Havana.” When Ty had revealed the intel he’d gathered about Vana’s origins, I’d nearly had a stroke.

  Gabriel went silent for a few moments. “I’m guessing not just any colonel.”

  No, not just any colonel. “I suspect he was one of the original test subjects from the Lykos project.” All evidence indicated that Vana’s father was likely Zacharias, one of the oldest, strongest, and most powerful of our species. Although the military had reputedly destroyed most of their initial test subjects, a few like Tasha had escaped, and a few, like Zacharias had been retained as soldiers.

  Gabriel cursed. “You know we’re required to report any suspected Lykos to Tasha and—”

  Absolutely not! “Tasha can’t know about Havana. I’d planned to take her and Mira somewhere far from her territory.” First, we had to meet up with a rival faction leader at Sanctuary.

  Gabriel snorted. “Well, obviously that didn’t pan out. Havana’s close to her transition so you’d best not take too much time getting back here. I can barely keep Liam and Mason away from her as it is.”

  What? Blood roared in my ears. I bared my teeth, my inner wolf clawing to the surface. “She’s mine! I will eviscerate any male that touches her. Understand?”

  “Why are you yelling, Daddy?” Mira cried from the back seat.

  I covered the phone and said, “It’s okay, sunshine.” I took a deep breath and let it out. The idea that Vana was transi
tioning and going into her first heat brought out my territorial Alpha nature. I’d worked hard over the years to temper my savage instincts, but when it came to my female, all bets were off.

  Damnation. Her transition couldn’t come at a worse time. It meant a definite change of plans. I’d have to take Vana somewhere private for at least twenty-four hours. A Lykos female in heat needed to mate constantly and I wouldn’t tolerate any other males around. My mouth dried as I imagined what the next few days would have in store for the two of us. Vana will forgive me. She’ll claim me. Then she and I will mate until our bodies give out.

  “Understood,” Gabriel said, dragging me back to our conversation.

  “Good.” Gabriel’s respect eased some of my tension. The need to see Vana burned inside me, but outside the wind was picking up. I turned on the windshield wipers and peered ahead. I could barely see more than a few feet. Fuck. I slowly pulled the Rover back onto the ice-covered road and updated Gabriel on our change of plans. “The storm is closing in and I won’t risk the drive up the mountain with Mira. Sunridge is here on our left. I’m pulling into the resort. Mira and I will stay here for the night. Expect us first thing in the morning.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  I ended the call and drove into the ski resort’s parking lot. Not surprising this close to Christmas, it was only half-full. Good. The fewer the humans, the less likely anyone with the Z-virus was inside. Stopping here was a calculated risk, but if this storm was as bad as they were predicting, it’d be too dangerous to sit it out in the car. I needed my daughter warm and dry and if that meant taking out a zombie or two, so be it.

  “Is Vana here?” Mira asked, her eyes dancing with excitement.

  “No, but we’re going to stop here for a little while.”

  “I want to see Vana. No stopping.” Mira crossed her arms over her chest and gave me a mutinous look.

  Curse the fates, if she’s this much of a handful at four, what will she be like as a teenager? Shaking my head, I tried another tactic. “I’ll bet they have pancakes. Do you want pancakes for breakfast?”

  She shook her head. “Do they have pizza?”

  Pizza for breakfast? If Vana were here, that’d be a no go. Ah hell, why not? “Yes, they definitely have pizza. Let’s go get some.”

  Mira perked up. “Okay!”

  I checked my suit pockets, looking for my wallet. Hell, tell me that in my hurry to pack all our things, I didn’t leave that behind. Thankfully, I found the wallet inside my suit breast pocket along with Vana’s engagement ring. I brushed my fingers against the four-carat diamond and made myself a promise. This time tomorrow, Vana will be wearing this.

  Grinning, I opened the car door, stepped out, and helped Mira out of her booster seat. Then with her little hand clasped in mine, we walked up the snow-covered walkway to the hotel and went inside.

  Odd. Why isn’t there anyone at the front desk?

  1

  Havana

  A shot of adrenaline spiked my blood as two giant wolves tried to bring me down. The silvery-white snow crunched like broken glass under my paws.

  Gabriel, the dark brown wolf, stayed on my left flank, while Liam, the massive russet-colored wolf, pressed in on my right.

  “Stop, Havana!” Gabriel telepathically ordered. “We’re almost at the wall.”

  As if his words conjured it up, the eighteen-foot stone wall that protected Sanctuary, the forty-acre property where we were riding out the apocalypse, appeared in the distance.

  Almost there. I increased my pace.

  “Enough!” Gabriel shouted into my mind. “You know the rules. Stop!”

  “It’s not safe,” Liam added.

  I was sick of safe. I was sick of pacing the floors of the luxurious winter lodge pretending the world wasn’t imploding. But most of all, I was sick of them treating me like a fragile doll that could shatter at any moment. It’d been a week since either of them had touched me. I gnashed my teeth in frustration.

  I might have tolerated the lack of intimacy better had it not been Christmas Eve, the anniversary of my mother’s death.

  Remembering my mom brought back bittersweet memories. She’d been MIA most of my childhood, but she’d been the only family I’d had. Scratch that, I had a new family. One I’d created by claiming the sexiest three guys I’d ever met.

  One of those guys was back at the lodge trying to find a cure for the Z-virus using his medical expertise. The other two were hot on my heels.

  Seeming to realize I wasn’t stopping, Gabriel and Liam both rushed forward and tried to tackle me to the ground. But I was too fast. In a burst of speed, I darted past them and bounded over the wall in a single physics-defying leap.

  Crunch.

  I landed in the middle of a snowdrift, the soft impact not slowing me in the slightest. With a toss of my muzzle, I shook off the feathery flakes and continued loping down the road. In just minutes, I came to a small run-down cabin.

  Funny how a little more than a week ago, I’d risked death itself to escape that place. Of course I’d been dying of the zombie-plague so braving a snowstorm to seek help from Mason, Liam, and Gabriel seemed the lesser of two evils.

  Thankfully, Mason had cured me and sent me into my first werewolf transformation. That triggered my first heat cycle, which resulted in me claiming him, Gabriel, and Liam as my own.

  My breath came faster as I remembered all the ways my sexy mates and me had mated. It’d been incredible. The scorching memory of our foursome in the shower kept me from sleeping most nights. I physically ached for more. But my mates apparently didn’t feel the same. I’d done everything I could to stir their interest including become a nudist around the lodge, and still they kept me at arm’s length.

  Never in my life had I been this needy. It was as if my Lykos transformation had flipped me into some kind of sexual hyperdrive. The sexual frustration along with the mounting anxiety each day that my ex, Nathan, and his young daughter didn’t arrive was driving me insane.

  My heart ached as I thought of little Mira, who I used to nanny. She and her father should have been at Sanctuary ten days ago, but there had been no sign of them and, without working cell towers, we had no way of contacting them. For all I knew they hadn’t even made it out of Saguaro Valley, one of the epicenters of the outbreak.

  They could’ve been attacked. My stomach churned at the thought of Mira being hurt or worse. Her father, on the other hand, could become zombie food for all I cared. Three months ago, the rat bastard had ripped my heart out and stomped all over it when he’d kissed his supposed dead wife in front of me. To add insult to injury, Nathan proceeded to tell me our relationship had meant nothing to him right before he slammed his front door in my face.

  All those times he’d told me he loved me. Lies. All those plans we’d made. More lies. Nathan’s betrayal had shattered my naïve belief in love and happily-ever-afters. The only good to come out of that experience was I’d learned how to claw myself out of the depths of depression, and Nathan had, in a roundabout way, introduced me to my mates.

  Although Gabriel had tried to convince me that Nathan might have ended our relationship to save me from Tasha, the vicious Alpha of Winterhaven, I didn’t entirely buy it. Nathan had been too cold. Too cruel that night. And that kiss he’d given Tasha had looked plenty real to me.

  I growled as Tasha’s model-perfect face came to mind. Fuck her. It didn’t help that my mates were fixated on her too. They all seemed to live in fear of her arrival. Sanctuary was her vacation home and my mates were supposed to be her loyal subjects. Apparently, the statuesque blonde would murder us all on sight for taking what was hers.

  I snorted. Let her try. The psychotic bitch had forced Gabriel to kill his own family and tortured him for years afterward. I looked forward to avenging his pain.

  The sound of panting breaths made my heart race. They’re gaining on me. Can’t let them catch me…yet.

  With a single bound, I landed on the rickety wooden steps of the c
abin and immediately took my human form. The first few times I’d reshaped my body had been disorienting. However, after practice, shape-shifting had become second nature, just like the ability to shield my thoughts from my mates. Thrilled they’d have no idea what I had in store for them, I yanked the front door open.

  The sharp, sweet scent of the peppermint oil Liam had used to drive off the former furry occupants of the cabin beckoned me inside. The cozy interior, with the large windows overlooking the frozen river out back, was almost the same as I’d remembered. Of course, the fire in the woodstove had gone out. But it wasn’t as if my bare skin even registered the cold. One of the many perks of being a Lykos.

  Sitting across from the rocking chair and leather recliner was the bed where I hoped the next stage of my plan would land me.

  My favorite boots, black dress, and long charcoal wool jacket lay on the soft white cashmere area rug next to an IV stand. Mason must’ve taken off my wet clothes to warm me the night he found me freezing outside. I wrinkled my nose at the sight of the coagulated bag of blood still attached to the pole. Ugh. Tasha’s blood. Although a transfusion of her blood had healed and transformed me into a rare and powerful Alpha female, it made me sick to think some part of that monstrous woman was running through my veins.

  Deciding that the IV stand was a mood killer, I walked in, grabbed it, and wheeled it to the far corner of the cabin. Then I hid it behind the curtain Mason had hung around a bedpan. Thank God, I’d been able to upgrade my accommodations before I’d been forced to use the makeshift bathroom. I’d never take running water and electricity for granted again.

  The sound of stomping feet on the wood steps outside was my only warning before the cabin door flew open and a scowling, naked, dark-haired man stormed inside.

  Gabriel’s eyes glinted with anger. “Havana, what’s the meaning of this?” His ragged breathing brought my attention to the smooth bronze muscles of his chest.